Prominent Atlanta landscape architect among 3 dead in helicopter crash in GA forest

Jasper County sheriff’s officials on Friday evening released the names of the three people who died in a helicopter crash there on Wednesday night.

The dead were identified as Alister Pereira, 42, one of the pilots; Charles Ogilvie, 46, another pilot; and Carson McElheney, 40, a prominent landscape architect in Atlanta.

Officials began searching for the crash site soon after the Robinson R66 chopper went down just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday in the Oconee National Forest a dozen or so miles south of Monticello.

The site in rural Jasper County lies about three miles east of the Ocmulgee River — five miles northeast of Juliette and just south of Ga. Highway 83, which links Forsyth and Monticello.

The aircraft crashed a couple of hours after takeoff from Thomasville in southwest Georgia as it passed over Middle Georgia as heavy rain moved through. The cause of the wreck remains under investigation.

The five-seat chopper is capable of flying 160 miles an hour and traveling up to 400 miles. The helicopter’s destination was not immediately known.

People who live in the vicinity of the crash reported hearing a low-flying aircraft around the time of the wreck.

The passenger, McElheney, was the namesake of Carson McElheney Landscape Architecture & Design, which was founded a decade ago.

According to the company’s web site, McEleheny, a father of two, “developed a body of work that respects the regional vernacular, preserves historical accuracy, and is both smart and sensitive to today’s modern lifestyles. With a love and an appreciation for classical architecture, he crafts elegant landscapes ranging from courtyard gardens to large estates, plantations and gentlemen farms.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 5:51 PM.